Sun visor for protective hat



y 1960 A. G. SCHOENER 2,934,767

SUN VISOR FOR PROTECTIVE HAT Filed Oct. 28, 1958 INVENTOR. AME/3 a. 5(HOEfl/ER BY a V P 2 5 M mww UN VISOR FOR PROTECTIVE HAT Allen G. Schoener, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 28, 1958, Serial No. 770,070

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-10) This invention relates to sun visors, and more particularly to visors that can be attached to a protective hat such as worn by industrial workers.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a sun visor which is simple in construction, which is all in one piece, which is inexpensive, and which can readily be attached to or removed from a protective hat of the hard shell type.

In accordance with this invention the sun visor is formed from a pliable sheet and has an arcuate body provided at its ends with integral tabs that project upward so that they will extend up into the protective hat with which the visor is to be used. The concave edge or rear marginal portion of the visor body is provided with a pair of notches for receiving the edge of the rigid brim of the hat. The marginal portion of the body between the notches forms a tongue that overlaps a small area of the top of the hat brim. The end portions of the body engage the lower surface of the brim, thereby preventing vertical movement of the visor relative to the brim. The visor tabs are provided with slots so that the suspension straps in the hat can be threaded through them to hold the visor in place, with the hat brim projecting into the visor notches.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings; in which Fig. 1 is a bottom view of a protective hat carrying my visor;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the hat and visor;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line III-HI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary inside view of the assembly taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a reduced plan view of the visor alone, showing it flat before it has been applied to a hat.

Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawings, the normally flat visor is cut or stamped from a sheet of suitable material.

Various materials can be used, as long as the visor is stiff enough to retain its shape but flexible enough to permit it to curved and bent as desired. This condition is referred to herein as being pliable. For example, the visor may be made of cardboard, fiberboard or a synt-hetic plastic. Also, it may be opaque or translucent, or transparent but colored to reduce the glare of the sun. It should also be resistant enough to water to prevent it from losing its shape if it is rained upon.

The visor has a generally arcuate or crescent shaped body 1, at the opposite or rear ends of which there are integral tabs 2 that project upward at an angle. The inner ends of these tabs are provided with transverse ice slots 3 for a purpose that will be explained presently. Likewise, the rear edge of the visor body, which is its concave edge, is provided with a pair of centrally located notches 4 that form a short tongue 5 between them.

When it is desired to apply this visor to a protective hat of well-known form which has a rigid brim 7 surrounding a crown 8, the visor is placed with its end portions beneath the front section of the brim and then the visor is moved back while the tongue 5 is lifted by the fingers sufficiently to permit it to slide over the front of the brim as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The tabs 2 will project up into the hat close to its side wall. With the brim projecting into the two notches 4, so that parts of the visor engage both the upper and lower surfaces of the brim, the visor conforms to the curvature of the brim and they are connected together as a unit and cannot move vertically relative to each other.

To hold the visor in place with the hat brim projecting into the notches, the upwardly projecting tabs are connected to the two front suspension straps 9 of the headreceiving cradle after theyhave been temporarily disconnected from the hat. The connection is made by threading the lower ends of these two straps outwardly through the slots 3 of the substantially vertical tabs. Then the straps are again connected to the shell, whereby the tabs are supported by the straps. This connection also prevents the visor from moving forward on the brim and becoming disconnected from it. The straps may be connected to the hat in various ways. One convenient way of doing this is attach them to lugs 11 that can be inserted up into pockets 12 molded into the sides of the shell adjacent the brim. With the visor connected to the hat in this way, the visor and hat are locked together and cannot be separated again unless the suspension straps are disconnected from the hat and withdrawn from the slots in the tabs.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I

have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

A sun visor adapted to project forward from the rigid brim of a protective hat that has internal suspension straps, the visor being a pliable sheet having an arcuate body provided with a convex front edge and a concave rear edge terminating in end portions provided with integral tabs projecting upward, the concave edge portion of said body being provided centrally with two brimreceiving notches forming a tongue between them adapted to overlap a small area of the top of the hat brim, the end portions of said body being adapted to engage the lower surface of the brim at opposite sides of the tongue, and said tabs being provided with slots adapted to receive a pair of said straps to hold the visor in place.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,557,375 Stern Oct. 13, 1925 2,272,542 Blodjer Feb. 10. 1942 2,708,269 Von Gunten May 17, 1955 

